Special feature: Machine overhaul
Unique Cat swing yarder cheats death Story & photos: John Ellegard
YES, YOU READ THAT HEADLINE RIGHT – this is a story about a Caterpillar swing yarder. Not many people know there was a Caterpillar-branded swing yarder on the market back in the day – I certainly didn’t, until I came across this particular machine now working in Northland. And then discovered that it’s actually been hiding in plain sight here in New Zealand for the past 40 years. Well, we think this Caterpillar SY235 has been here that long, but the actual date of its
arrival is not clear. It has passed through a few hands over the years after being imported brand new sometime in the 1980s by Canadian logger Brent Hewlett, who established a harvesting operation in the North Island. It has gone through a few more hands since then, before being purchased by Palmerston North-based forestry manager, Forest360, three years ago to work with one of its Northland crews. It was in need of some serious TLC and the
next stop may well have been the graveyard. But Forest360 has a history of breathing life into old machines, especially yarders (swing and pole) and after keeping it going for a couple of years, it decided the SY235 was worth hanging onto and commissioned a 12 month-long complete overhaul. At the end of February NZ Logger travelled north to see the end result. The reason for our special interest? This may well be the last Caterpillar SY235 still working anywhere
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